Saturday, May 28, 2011

BIGGEST LOSER: DENI HILL WORKING TO MAINTAIN WEIGHT LOSS

Deni Hill showed up in her Body Jam class Saturday morning in her pink Biggest Loser T-shirt, to a round of applause and hugs.

Pretty impressive that the 59-year-old Bountiful mother of eight won $100,000 on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” TV show last week. She lost the the highest percentage of weight among the previously eliminated contestants.

She went from 256 pounds at the beginning of the competition, to 131 at the season finale. That's 125 pounds, or 48.83 percent of her body weight. She was only slightly bested by the $250,000 grand-prize winner Olivia Ward, who who went from 261 pounds to 132, for a 49.2 percent weight loss.

Deni and Sarah at beginning.

Deni and daughter Sarah at finale.

I called Deni for an interview Friday afternoon as she was driving home from the exciting week in California.

She said one of the most exciting parts of the experience was seeing the other contestants, who were transformed by their weight loss.

“We all get along well and we were all so happy for each other,” Hill said. One of the most changed was Justin Pope of Logan, who went from 365 to 193 pounds.

“When he first came up to me and gave me a hug, I didn’t know who he was,” she said. “He looked fabulous. It was incredible.”

In fact, Pope came very close to beating Hill for the eliminated contestant prize. Pope partnered with Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner, who voluntarily left the show and didn't attend the finale. Pope and Gardner are partners in a Logan gym, and Hill said that Pope is also hoping to open a low-cost facility for kids and families. She plans to donate some of her prize money to buy spin bikes for it.

She’s especially proud of her daughter Sarah, who looked fabulous at the finale in a hot pink, size 4 knit dress. And for those who have been asking about it online, she bought it at the Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas for less than $50. Sarah actually brought it for her mother to wear.

“It looked good on me, but it looked fabulous on her,” Hill said. “The dress I wore was one that I brought with me from Nordstom. I had a lot of neat comments that I looked very beautiful and modest, which was my intent.”

Sarah Nitta and her mom, Deni Hill, today.

Hill was also thrilled to find out her body fat statistics. “I went from 52 percent body fat to 22 percent. That’s an athlete. And I can’t believe my knees. They were so bad before, because I was carrying an extra 125 pounds. And my sleep apnea is gone.”

Hill’s exit from the show was a bit controversial. During Week 8, she and another parent, Jesse Wornum purposely "waterloaded" to gain weight and get sent home. “I drank a lot of water and ate really salty food,” she said.

Because of alliances forged among some of the other players, Hill said she felt the need to sacrifice herself to save her daughter, Sarah, from possible elimination. But Sarah ended up being sent home two weeks later.

“Hindsight is 20-20,” Hill said. “At the time, I thought that was my only choice to keep Sarah. Now I wish I would have just tried as hard to lose as much weight as I could. But it’s what it is.”

When Hill came home, she quit her sedentary job as an administrative assistant, and worked out 3 ½ to 4 ½ hours each day. She used two different personal trainers — one at Four Pillars Fitness and another at the South Davis Recreation Center, and she also attended workout classes at the Skills Fitness Center.

She stuck to 1,200 calories a day, with fruits, vegetables and lean protein as her mainstays. She also received weekly deliveries of The Biggest Loser Meal Plan a gift from eDiets to all of the contestants. These are low-calorie, nutritionally balanced meals.

“I didn’t use them all the time, because I like to have a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables,” she said. “But it really helped once in awhile when I didn’t have time to cook for myself and I was dashing out the door.”

Hill said she’s gotten some complaints on “The Biggest Loser” message board that not everyone can afford to quit their job to lose weight. She pointed out that Ana Alvarado was able to lose a great deal of weight despite being eliminated the first week of the show. (And Ana would also be a shoo-in for the Miss Congeniality Award, Hill added.)

“But, Ana is a letter carrier with the Post Office, so she walks a route every day. My job was sitting at a desk eight hours a day, and my goal was to win. Now I will just maintain the weight I am at.”

Now the show is over, Deni's planning to keep that weight off. She's bumped up her calorie level to 1,600 a day and will get in two hours of vigorous exercise a day. On Saturday morning, she came to Body Jam at Skills Fitness, stayed for Zumba class, and did some time on the Stairmaster as well.

“I lost it fast, but if I can do it, anyone can do it,” she said. “I was a total couch potato. You can find time in the morning or after work. You just need to move to lose.”

And, don’t shy away from the gym because you think you’re too heavy, she advised.

“That’s what the fitness center is there for. I was so intimidated going to a gym, but they are for heavy people, not just people who are already in shape. Find one that will show you how to use the machines and give you a program to follow, so you don’t get intimidated. A personal trainer is great, but if you can’t afford one, go to the exercise classes. There are all sizes in the classes.”

And now, she’ll be job hunting. She half-jokes that her ideal job would be at Costco, “because I would have health insurance and I’d be doing a lot of moving and lifting.”

She hopes to have an opportunity to do motivational speaking, and will be doing some work with NuSkin as well.

And although $100,000 sounds like a big payoff, after taxes and tithing (Hill is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), and paying off debts, “It’s basically gone,” she said. “But I will be out of debt.”

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I'm the author of "Soup's On!" (Covenant Communications) with 100 fast and flavorful recipes, 75 of which can be made in 30 minutes or less.
I write a weekly column for the Standard-Examiner Food section. As a former food editor of both the daily Deseret News in Salt Lake City and the Standard-Examiner in Ogden, I've received awards from the Association of Food Journalists, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah-Idaho Press Association, the Beehive Chefs and Writer's Digest. I've judged cooking and writing contests including the World Championship Dutch Oven Cook-off, the Les Dames D'Escoffier International MFK FIsher Writing Award, Taste TV Awards, and International Chocolate Salon.
I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon) although this is not an official LDS blog. My husband, Kim and I have been married 29 years and have four kids and three grandkids.